E 375 
.C62 

Copy 1 21 SUPPLEMENT 



TO THE 







TO THE ruBLia 



WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN DECEMBER, 1827, 

XiXHIBITZNa FURTHER EVIDENCB 



IK 



REFUTATION OP THE CHARGES AGAINST HIM, 



TOUCHING TUE 



l^AST F'jRESIU>EJSTKAI. ELECTIOJV^ 



MADE B7 



mtn. ^n^veUi Sadfesoit 




WASHINGTON I 



PRINTED BY PETER FORCE, CORNER OF ELEVENTH STREET A NO 
PENNSYLVANIA AVENin^, 



.b 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



In my Address of December last to the Public, iii 
l-elation to the charges against me, concerning the 
last Presidential Election, which originated With 
General Andrew Jackson and some of his fritmds, I 
stated that I had been disappointed in the receipt of 
some testimony which I had expected ; and that, if I 
should subsequently obtain it, I would present it to the 
Public. 1 accordingly received several statements from 
different gentlemen, some of which were communicated 
without solicitation. Deeming them highly important, 
I present them to the Public in this Supplement, with- 
out a single comment. I offer only the following ex- 
planation : 

PART I. 
Exhibits the statements of Messrs. William Sample, 
Isaac Bennett, the Rev. A. Wylie, John Keel, Cuth- 
bert T. Jones, and J. U. Waring. Upon perusing 
them, in connexion with statements on the same sub- 
ject which I formerly published, the Public will be able 
to judge of the accuracy of General Jackson's asser- 
tion, that " the origin — the beginning of this matter,'' 
[the charge of bargain,] "was at my own house and 
" fireside, where surely a freeman may be permitted to 
" speak on public topics, without having ascribed to 
*• him improper designs." 

PART If. 
Consists of the statements of Messrs. George Ro 
bcrtson and Charles S. Todd, of Kentucky, and Dan- 
iel Vertner and A. W. Woolcy, of Mississippi, and 
B. S. Forrest, of Maryland ; the four former narrating 
conversations between other eentlemen and me, lomr 
antecedent to the late Presidential Election, in which 
I freely expressed my opinion respecting Mr. Adams 
and General Jackson. Mr. Forrest's statement proves 
that Colonel Benton, on his wav to Conoress jn the 



4 

Fall ol' I??'Jl, (Ic'claiHil that '' it was impossihle lliat Mi 
" Clay could vote <'or (jleiieral Ja(k;.(jn, aiul expressed 
* niucli surpnse at the sii question." 

I suhjuiii the statements of CohiiH>I Benton, Mr. 
Phnner. and Mr. Kolx-rtsmi otOhio, whicli have been 
.•ihetid\ pnhHslied, uithont liavinj; lieen previously coiii- 
nnnncated to nie ; and ol" D. White, Esq., the only 
Kcjjresentative I'roni Kentucky, votinjf for Mr. A<la>ns. 
whose statement was not contained in my former pub- 
lication : Also, two letters written by me, which liad 
escaped my recollection, and have been piddished by 
the jfenlh.inen to whom respectively they were ad 
dressed. 

H. CLAY 
Wvsni.NGTO, 1 0th June, 18'28. 



SUPPLEMENT, &:c; 



Statement 0/ William Sample, transmitted in a letter to II. Clai/. 

On Tuesday, the 22cl day of March, 1825, wiipn General Andrew 
Jackson was on his way from VVashinjiton Ciiy to his residence in IVn- 
nessee, he, with a number of tlie citizens of Washington, Pennsylvania, 
and of the county, were in the public house oflMr. Chambers, inn-kcept-r. 
West Alexandria, Pennsylvania, Mr. Ldward MKJiaughlin, a ritizt-n of 
Doncgcdl tnwnship, Washington county, Pennsylvania, calhd at the public 
house of Mr. Chambers, in the town of West Alexandria, for the special 
purpose of seeing General Jackson. Mr. L. M'Gl^iughlin whs introduced 
to the General; and, after the common salutation of shaking hands, Mr. 
M'Gfaughlin said, " Well, General, we did all we could for you here, but 
the rascals at Washington cheated you out of it." To this expressim, 
General Jackson made the following reply : " Indeed, my old friend, there 
was chcatery, and corruption, and bribery too. The Editors of ilie Na- 
tional Intelligencer were bribed to suppress the publication of honest 
George Kremei's letter." Mr. M'Glaughlio's introduction was al his 
own solicitation, in a public house, in the presence of a room full of gen- 
tlem n ; and the conversation also in the same public house, in the pre- 
sence of a large and promiscuous company. Samuel Workman, T honiHS 
Morgan, Joseph Henderson, Josiah Trensdell, William Sample, and others, 
were present. 



Brownsville, February 2S, 1828. 

Dear Sirs: Your favor has been received, and in pursuance of your re- 
quest I called on Mr. Slone to obtain a certificate of the conversation that 
took place between him and Generil Jackson, which he peremptorily re- 
fused to give. Therefore, in conformity with 3 our further request, that, 
in case of a non compliance, I tvould transmit to you the purport of 
that conversation delivered to me by Slone, tiiat took place betwt-en him 
.;d the CJeneral; I, therefore, doci-rtify, th;ii ! have heard him repeatedly 
observe, in substance, as f.)llows, that he, Mr. Slone, was one of a commit- 
tee that left Drownsviilo ti* meet < J. neral Jackson on his return from Wash 
ington city in 182.'); ttiat, while in- his company, he observed to the Ge- 
neral that there had been much said respecting a corrupt bargain and in- 
trigue pending the Presidential election; that iie wislied to ascertain from 
him if there was any foundiUion to justify the report ; the General observ- 
ed that it was a delicate matter for him to treat upon. Mr, Slone assured 
him he was surrounded with his frlertds ; tiiat he might speak freely 
on the subject. The General then proceeded to slate, that, early one 
morning, Mr. Clay called on him at his lodgings, which was quite an «n- 
ysual circumstance, and, after a lew cuuiijliments luid passed. Mr. Oiny r.Jj- 
served : General, I have no d>uht of your election nriv.-. The General 
stated, I read his heart in a nioment, but replied to Mr. Clay, that, if elect- 
ed, be would e.^ercise his best I'mlgmon; in ex-'cuiing the duties of jlie 



6 

office; that Mr. Clay, meeting with no cncouragcmeiif, politely bid hin; 
good iiMriiing, and It fi the room ; and, in a few days>, lie understood that 
Clay had decUred himself in favor of John Q. Adams. This, said 
the (.ieiieral, Mr. Clay » ill not have the hardihood to stand befor-' me and 
deny. The (ieneral furilier staled, by way of comment, that there was 
no doubt, had he observed to iMr. Clay, if I am elected 1 will do some- 
thing fur you, that he, Jackson, would have been the Presid-nt 

ISAAC BENNETT. 
Air. R. McKee, and Alexander Caldwell, Esq. 



Washington, February I5th, 1828. 

Pear Sir : T received yoor note of the 28th ult. in which you inform 
me that, " by a letter just received from H. Clay he expresses a wish to 
obtain a statemi nt in writing from yourself, giving, in detail, a substantial 
account of that portion of the conversation of General Jackson which re- 
lated to himself and Mr. Adams, or, in other words, the bargain and sale 
story," and that " this statement is intended for self-protection only." 

Your note should have been answered sooner, but that I found myself 
unable to bring up the convers.itioa alluded to so distinctly to my recol- 
lection as to give it " in detail." The substance of it, even now, is all 
that [ can pretend to give. 

When General Jacksm arrived at Bunland's, on his return from Con- 
press in the Spring of 1825, the agitation t>f the public mind was extreme, 
fronn the belief, then prevalent, that his elevation to the Presidency had 
been prevented by intrigue and management on the part of Messrs. 
Adams and Clay. Mv own mind, I confess, was not altogether undis- 
turbed on this subject, feeling, as the head of a large family, whe, in the 
common course of nature, must share, after me, in the destinies of our 
beloved country, a deep interest in the preservation of iis liberties, which 
I believed, from what 1 knew of the history of Republics, were not likely 
lo perish in any popular convulsion, until the People themselves should 
first find their rights to have been invaded by those in power. Feeling, 
from the force of such considerations, a sympathy for General Jackson, I 
was induced, though I had no previous personal acquaintance with hiin, tQ 
pay him my respects. 

The following dialogue took place: 

A. You return, General, from a boisterous campaigi:. 

B. Yes, Sir. 

A. One in which you were not quite so si»ccessful as in some former 
ones. 

R. My success in those to which you alliid** was owing to the frmness 
<if the brave men whom I had the honur to command. 

A. It is more luiiiorable, howerer, <^»eneral, t>» lose than to win in such 
a contest as that lately concluded at the Tederul city, if, indeed, things 
were manajred i*' has been reported. 

n. And who can doubt it ? 

A. NVliV, (ieru-ral, one would hardly stippose tli.it such men as J. Q 
AdHnm and II. Clay would, in tbe lace of the nation, engage in such e. 
fransaction. 



7 

B. But 1ft any nnpn, in his senses, take a view of the circumstances-^ 
let him compare, for instance, the prediction of honest Gforge Kremer 
with its accomplishment. 

A. But, were not the talents and local situation of Mr, Clay soflTicient 
to justify the confident fxpectation of his appointment? There is, how- 
ever, another circumstance which, if true, will settle the point. 

B. What is that ? 

A. The proposition that is said to have been made to you — was that 
^ fact ? 

B. Yes, Sir, such a proposition was made. I said to the bearer — Go, 
tell Mr. Clay, tell Mr. Adams, that if I gi. into that chair, I go with clear 
hands, and a pure heart, and thai I'd rather see them, together with my- 
self, engulphed to the earth's centre than to cotnpass it by such means. 
The very next day, (or shortly after, which of the expressions it was is 
not now recollected) Mr. Clay and his friends declared for Mr. Adams. 

Such was the conversation, as nearly as can be now recollected. It was 
rapid, and carried on in such a tone of voice as not to be heard by many 
in the room. The Messrs. Murdocks, who were present, I believe must 
have heard a part of it. Most of the sentences were not announced in 
full, but taken up and answered by the parties so soon as iheir drift and 
bearing were understood, except the last, which was pronoum ed empha- 
tically. Of this, I am the more certain, as it made an impression which 
was, on my mind, deed and vivid. 

The foregoing statement is at the service of Mr, Clay. The allegations 
which it contains against him and Mr. Adams, were believed by me at 
the time, but have, in my view, been losing their evidence in the course 
of public inquiry; and now ought either to be sustained by additional 
proof, or magnanimously abandoned; otherwise, I should tnink a reaction 
in public sentiment may be expected. 

Yours, with respect, 
Th: M. Giffin, Esq. A. WYLIE. 



Bowling Green, FeVy. 23d, 1828. 
Dear Sir : Your note of this date has been duly received, requesting 
me to state whether or not, I was present at a conversation held by Gen- 
eral Jackson, at the Washington Hall Tavern, in this town, in the month 
of April, 1825, when on his way from Washington ; in which he made 
charges o( bargain and intrigue, against Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay. In 
answer to the above inquiries, I must state that I was present at the Wash- 
ington Hall on the evening after General Jackson arrived there, when on 
his way from Washington in 1825 ; and heard him conversing freely re- 
specting Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay, and the Presidential election, in which 
conversation I heard General Jackson say, that he would not have the of- 
fice of President of the United States, if ho had to obtain it by bargain, 
corruption, and intrigue, as Mr. Adams had done. This was the first 
time I had ever heard the celebrated bargain and intrigue mentioned, 
which has since made so much noise throughout the United States. 
Respectfully your obedient servant, 
Col. Fr. Johnson, JOHN KEEL. 



8 

Bowling Green, Vch'y. \st, 1S28. 
V ihiitk It was some tiiiiP in tho nionili o\' April, 1825, Mai (j>-i). Jack- 
SOI), 1)11 his teturii n.)ii) iln" City with liis fainilv, put iipol the W;ishi .'gton 
Hall 'r.iwrn, in this place, and roindiiied until the next day alter broakr 
fdst. In ihe course of the aftern joii of the d.jy of iiis arrival, many citi- 
/( lis of tlu! place calkd to sec him; I then lived at the Washington II ill 
Tavern. Hi' appeared to converse iVoely with ti)e company who wore 
(here, upon the suhject of tho Presidential chjclion. I heard him repeat- 
I'llly s;)cakinff of iNlr. Ad^ims and Mr. Clay; and in speaking of the Presi- 
dential election,! understood him to say, that propositions had been made 
to him, (Gen. Jackson,) cither by or through the friends of iMr. Clay — I do 
noi now distinctly recollect whether it was by Mr. Clay's friends or through 
Mr. Clay's friends— that il he. General Jackson, would say he would make 
Mr. Clay Secretary of Slate, that Mr. Clay and his friends would vole for 
him, and that they would sotlle the Presidential election in one hour; and 
i fjiiner understood Gen-'ral Jackson, that lie told tho messenger that he 
mi: 'I go back and tell Mr. f'lay, that he would rather see the earth open 
and swallow both himself, Mr Clay, and their friends, up together, than it 
9l)oui<i be said he got into the Presidential chair by bargain, or intrigue, on 
his iiirt. This is substantially what I heard the General say; though it may 
not be ;i'..: precise words he used, it substantially conveys what he said to 
tiie company on that point. 

CUTIIBERT T. JONES. 



Frankfort, Kmtiichj, March 21, 1828. 

Dear Sir : \ our re|)rication to the charges so often repeated against you, 
of corruption, &c. in the late Presidential el-ction, has been received in 
Kentucky wiih niu-th satisf;»ction, by Mie friends of the present Admi' is- 
tration, and inire particularly by your weil-wishers, while it has silennd 
a large p ulion of your most open-mourhed defamers. 

Il is a fact probably known to you, that an extraordinary eflort has been 
m^vle and is makinir in this cuotry to rally the shattered ranks of a des- 
p-rate par'y, upoii tho .lame of Jackson, alihonch he h.s said that an hon- 
est jury wi>iild convict |any man of perjury who would vote for the very 
measures that have in Kentucky been so warmly supported by ih»-m. 

li>. your viu'iicaiion, you refer to a cnnvusaiion had by Cien-ral Jack- 
son, in Bowling CJrcen, upon his return from Congress, aft-r the election 
of Mr. Adams lo the Piesid.'nry. I was present at (me of those conver- 
sitions, when the General olisiTvrd, in speaking -f the laie election, that 
•• 'I'/ie proplr. fi.itt hern r/iralni.-' ^'■That the corruptions and intrigues at 
'• Washin^tan harl drfi atrd thf trill of the people, in the flection (f thrir 
•• VrrsidtHty I wailed until this braiirh of the conversation was closed, 
anJfindiiijMio p liliative, left the company, v\hirli was large, and composed 
nf gr-nllemon and ladies of the fir-tl respectability, and at a public tavern; 
fovr-ral followed, and his remarks brca »ie the subject of street conversa- 
tion, to whi. h I remark' d 'hat, us highly as I was .lisposcd to think of the 
fJ-nera!, panifularly for his military success, 1 cnnld not approve such a 
course — tliil if corruption exisi-d, and that known to liim,lu! surely -.fieiild 
n '! hnv-bi.'en the fir*:' tu greet Mr. Ad.im^ ii|)nn hi.s elevation; and thaljif 



von hac5 participated, it was his duly to have exposed it wlion your Domi- 
iialioii was before (ho Senau;. 

It may be well to remark, that the General may have thought he was 
wholly surrounded by political friends, as he had been well received there 
by the citi/ens. 

Respectfully, yours, 

J. U. WARING. 
//. C/«y. 

P. S. By a sense of duty to an injured and rnuch persecuted man, 1 
have been induced to address this letter to you, and you are at liberty to 
use it as you may think proper; I would have communicated these facts to 
you at an earlier period, but believing them unnecessary after the Gener- 
al's letter giving up Mr. Buchanan. 



December 17, 1827'. 

Sir: In the winter of 1824-5, I had frequent and free conversations 
with many of my friends on the subject ..f the then approaching election 
of President, by the House of Representatives. 

In these, I expressed my own preference for Mr. Adams, and my confi- 
dent belief, not only that he would be elected, but that a majority of the 
Kentucky delegation would vote for him. I felt and expressed no doubt 
that Mr. Clay would prefer him to Gen. Jackson. 1 believed that he could 
not support the General consistently with his feelings or principles; and 
in a frank conversation with him in September of 1824, I understood dis- 
tinctly, that nothing could ever induce him to aid in or approve the Gen- 
eral's election. In these views, you concurred — and referred to a conver- 
sation which you said you hud had with Mr. Clay, in which he communi- 
cated to you his determination, in any event, to oppose the election of 
Gen. Jackson. 

Indeed, before the election by the House of Representatives, I had 
heard no one express the opinion that Mr. Clay would or could co-operate 
with General Jackson's friends. 

Before the election of Mr. Adams, I had ascertained satisfactorily to 
myself, that those of the Kentucky delegation, who voted for him, would 
do so : And I had been informed (and yet have no doubt that the in- 
formation was true) that one of those from our State, who voted for the 
General, had, when about leaving home for Washington, in the fall of 1824, 
assured his constituents that he would not vote for (jreneral Jackson. 

Respectfully, 

Col. Davidson. GEORGE ROBERTSON. 



Shelbv, Kentucky, 18th February, 1828. 
Dear Sir : Adverting to that part of your late address, in which yoi? 
yeroark. " you have no doubt that in yonr promrscuoos and unreserved in- 



10 

tcicoiirse atnoni* yriur utquainUinccs in llii^ ;>lair, otii-^rs, not rpcollectedby 
3'ou, could be.«r K-sfimoo}' to the iindHvialing an) s<'tlli'd dt'termiiiaiioii ol' 
your niiixl,'' I dfirm it an act of duly nnd of" justice to infi»rru y<'u '''^t « 
coiiveisalion, ol ilift ifiidiocy alliwled to, occuriid between y-m, my late 
tallier and niys«I(, at liis Ikjusc in I'ranklorl, a Ifw days betore you siart«-.i 
from tbat place onyouf jiiurnfyro Wasliin^tDn, early tn JNoveniber, 1824. 
T wds iiol aware tlial yon had it in cont''ni|)l.ition to n)ake a |)ul)lica!ion on 
tliis subject, or 1 would have long since conniiunicatfd the ciicumstaace lo 
you. 

We couinieiicod the conversation by nn emjuiry of you, ns to the pros- 
pects of the Presidential Klection, and particni.irly as to the import ot' the 
latest inlormaiixn on an event which we regarded with great solicitude, 
that of your being returned by tlu; electoral col!ef^elo the House of Uepre- 
sentatives — you were of opinion that this result would depend chiefly on 
the vote of Louisiana, and tiie relaiive extent of tbe vote for yourself and 
Mr. ('rawford iri the Slate cd"i\ew Y<rk. Predicated on the idea of your 
exclusion Ironi the House, mv father enquired as to the actual and most 
received opini(»n of the stale of Mr. Crawford's heallh, and intimated a pre- 
feience of that distincuishod individual on the contingency supposed, 
should his liealth be considered as sufficiently brm to enable liini to dis- 
charge the arduous and complicated duties of President. You spoke of the 
last intelligence as to his health being very unfavorable, and concurred in 
the kind opinion exfiressed of him by my (atiier. A comparison was then 
entered ijiloas t<» the ies|>eciive ijualifications <if Mr. Adams and General 
Jackson. My father m-ntiotied having some prejudices against Mr. 
\d>m«, which, however, le aumiiti'd, were not of a cliaiacter lo impcacli 
his patiiotisni or his fitness i'ur ihe oflice, buth of which were ac- 
knowledged. He express^it a d'-sno to have a Western President, but did 
n(»t liiink that, in this aspect of tin- ci-i-, wc shoulii effect this oliject by the 
election ofGem'ral Jdcks>>n, hs neitJier lienor his imiiiediate friends could 
be relied on asfavorable to what was called the Western policy. He regar- 
ded General Jackson — nxireover, as disqualified by bis temper, his edu- 
citic.i, and habits, to discharge, saiisfaciofily, the duiies of the office of 
President. In these views you appeared t i concur, and requested us to 
exert any personal influence we might have witli the Legislature, in pre- 
venting the iitiroduction or atloption of a resolittitm lo iubiruct the Kentuc- 
ky delegation to vote for General Jackson. Von deprecated tbe idea as 
being in tbe liigin st degree embarrassing, and hoped it would not be adop- 
ted. I^lic whole cotiveis iiion impreased on my miml liie linn conviction 
with whicit ynu s' eined to be animated, that you could not, nor ought not 
»y vote for General Jackson under any circumstances whatever. I recol- 
lect tiistinctly, that you forebodeil the dir«'st consequences t« the country in 
the event of his election ; that it w>>utd bean adaiinisiration of fury and of 
violence, as bad been forcibly stated by iIk autlior of an interesting pamph- 
let ju>t pid)lished in Psew York, and to which you adverted. As contras- 
ted with the pretensions ot <Jenerid Jackson, you referred to the ability 
and long experience of Mr. Adams in tbe civil affair^ of the ISation, and 
nienti xied the incident of a friendly argument with him in bis oflice, or 
your leaving Wasliington in lS21-i;j, but in which you dilVered in opin- 
ion, as to the most suilabl-^ time to recognise the ind(j)enilence of tbe new 
l^overnmenis Souih of the United State."*. 1 took occasion, here, to speak 
of iho bi^li opinion of Mr. Adams's patriotism and abilities produced on 



11 

my nund hy tlip opportunity nfTordnd of judging of (hpra when enpa(»ed in 
llie stTvice ol the United *^t;ites nbroad ; wliicli tended in a gi'iil degreo to 
remove lh«' prejudices iinbib'ci fii.m iht- niisreiTosentiitiiiUs of liis pohlic;)! 
conduct Ht nn early period ot tlx* (iovernnient. 

In fipprnpriate connexion with tlie preceding narrative, I can state the 
substance of a conversation of like tendency had between yourself and 
our venerated friend the late Gov. Shelby, at his resilience, as early as the 
munth of July, 1824. He comni'-nced the conversation by asking what 
you thought of the prospects of Gen. Jackson in the apiimaching elec- 
tion. You r- ()!ied by st.iting that you did not believe he Would be elected, 
and spoke freely and fully of his conduct and (jnalitications, very much in 
the manner you had treated of then) in your public speeches — that you 
did not expect from him or his counsellors any friendly feeling towards 
Kentucky or tlie gieat \V\:slern interests, whi< h she had so prominently 
supported ; and that you had strong apprehensions that his Administration 
would be a reign of fury and of turbulence. (Jovernor Shelby then remarked 
that he concurred entiicly in these views, and proceeded to comnmnicate 
to you, what he had never mentioned out of the circle of his inuDediaie 
family, the great change effected in his mind towards General Jackson by 
!iis conduct at the Chickasaw Treaty in 1818, that the high eslinration in 
which he had theretofore regarded the ie/ii/jir, the discrrtion, judgment 
•and disinterested patriotism of General Jackson, had been greatly lessened 
by his conduct on that occasion. He said, his rash, hut-head«'d temper^ 
if it had not been restrained, would have cost the nation double the sum 
for which the land was ultiniitely purchased; and he had so permitted the 
integrity of his principles to be the dupe of an intrigue as to propose, on 
behalf of his personal friends, then present, to secure for them a reserva- 
tion of the Big Spring, and a valuable tract of land around it. To this 
proposition, he, Governor Shelby^ oppos'd an indignant refusal; but at 
length consented to its paiiial ad'pii n, wiih the understanding that the 
Government should have the pre-emption right at the price stipulated. He, 
gccordingly caused the necessary information to be transmitted to the 
President, who promptly accepted the reservation on behalf of the Go- 
vernment. In conclusion, Gov. Shelby remarked, in a tone and style pe- 
culiar to himself, that he believed there were five hundred men in the 
Union with stronger claims and qualifications to the Presidency than those 
possessed by General Jackson. From repeated and full conversations, 
which I had the satisfaction of subsequently h' Idirig with my revered father 
and my venerated father-in-law, I am persuaded that, had you voted for 
General Jackson, it would have greatly impaired the confidence in you, 
which had been implicit and exalted, and in the friendship which had been 
unclouded during a period of thirty years of intimate intercourse. You 
will concur with me in the belief, that no two individuals in the Western 
States, out of Tennessee, were so thoroughly apprized of the real charnc- 
f.er and qualification's of General Jackson as were these two departed 
patriots. 

1 have the honor to be, with great regard, 

Your obedient servant, 

C. S TODD, 
lion. H. Cf.AV, WaaUngton. 



1^ 

Fchruary 7th, ISiS. 
Wb. Johnston presents, with great pleasure, to Mr. Clay two hiiers from 
Mr. Vertiier and Mr. Woollcy, which he is at liberty to use in any «ay he 
may think proper. 



Port Gibson, JaHuary 10///, 1828. 

Pear Sir : I received some time ago your letter, containing a request 
thai 1 woulJ furnish a stritement of observations whicti I heard Mr. Clay 
make relative to the qualitications of Mr. Adams and General Jackson, for 
theodke of President of the United Stales, previous to the last Presiden- 
tial election. That statement I now proceed to furnish with great plea- 
sure : 

When on a visit to Kentucky, early in the month of August, 1824, I 
dined at a friend's house, in company with Mr. Clay and sevtral other gen- 
tlemen. After dinner, the conversation turned on the then appionching 
Presidential election, which conversation elicited from Mr. Clay the fol- 
lowing remarks in substance: That if the House of Representaiives had 
to decide the election between tliose two gentlemen, there was v< ry little 
doubt on his mind a; to the result, and that it would undoubtedly be in 
favor of Mr. Adams. He said tliat the House of Representatives was 
composed of men possessing great political knowledge and exporience — 
that they were acquainted with \\\e superior pretensions of Mr. Adams, and 
that superiority would secure his election — in fact, I recollect distinctly 
that he spoke in terms of high commendation of the ability, great expe- 
rience, and political accomplishments of Mr. Adams ; and that, for him- 
self, he could not hi-sitJie in giving his preference to Mr. Adams. He 
pronounced his objections to General Jackson with great decision and 
force, as »>nt)rely unfit for the situation ; and such was the impression 
made on my mind by these remirks, that had Mr. Clay afterwards voted 
for General Jackson, I should have been compelled to assign him some 
motive otherwise than the public good. 

I have now given, in substance, what I heard Mr. Clay say, according 
to your request, and 1 assure you it alfurds me great pleasure that the in- 
formntion is in my power to communicate. 

I ain yours, with great respect, 

D. VERTNER. 

HoD.J. S. JoHNSTON; Washington City, D. C. 



Port Gibson, January Otk, 1828. 

Dkar Sir: Your letter, bearing date 14lh last October, I received im- 
mediately previous to my departure from Kentucky. From considerations, 
im-i 'rtant to an accurate and full compliance with the request made in 
yoj' •♦•Iter, I was induced to (iciay my answer until I arrived at this place. 
I rearet exiremt'ly the delay, as I would cheerfully, and at all limes, afford 
any assistance in my power to exculpate the character of Mr. Clay from 
the fa'sft Hnd distrmceful aspt-rsions which' his enemies have endeavored to 
fii upoQ it. I recolloci distinctly the conversation to which you refer ; 



13 

and sliall state It to you with a full confidencpin the corrcctneSB of my re* 
ollection ; although some years have ehipsed sitico its occurrence, for im- 
mediately on my arrival at this place on the '27(h day of Dccenil»»T, 1324, I 
stated to many of my friends, that the State of Kentucky would, in the 
House of Represeiitrtiives, vole for Mr. Adams, and gave them »s my rea- 
son, the conversation lam going to relate. 1 further stated to them the 
conversation between Mr. Chiy and Dr. Drake, bifore the disclosure of it 
subsequently by Dr. Diake. My informali;)u of tliis conversation «vas ob- 
tained by me from Dr. Drake, before I left Kentucky. Those friends 1 
have lately consulted, and their recollections correspond precisely with 
what I will now relate. 

In the fall of tiie year 1824, some time previous to the departure of Mr 
Clay from Lexington, for the city of Washington, I had the pleasure to dine 
with Mr. Clay at his own house, with a number of gentlemen, who, I be- 
lieve, were generally, the p. iitical friends of Mr. Clay. The conversation 
was various, but generally of a political character, embracing the subjects 
of Internal Improvement and the Tarilf. The hist subject, I think, intro- 
duced Mr. Adams and General Jarkson into the conversation. At lenctli 
some observations were made by one of the company, on the unaccount- 
able success (as far as information had been received,} of Gneral Jackson, 
how far even beyond the expectations of those who first started him as a 
candidate, and that it was strongly probable Adams and Jackson would go 
before the House of Representatives with the greatest vote tVom the elec- 
toral college. Various observations were then made in opposition to the 
pretensions of Gen. Jackson, and many apprehensions expressed. Mr. 
Clay then remarked, that he felt no apprehension whatever for the elec- 
tion of Gen. Jackson ; tor, as beyond a doubt, it would be decided by the 
House of Representatives, he could not for a moment believe they would 
elect the General in preference to Mr. Adams. He then gave his reasons. 
They were to me sound and satisfactory. He spoke of the many oppor- 
tunities of Mr. Adams, and the many important distinguished civil and 
political situations he had filled, and with great ability, and henefit to our 
country ; he pronounced him an able and accomplished statesman. He 
spoke of General Jackson as of military reputation only; that he had given 
no evidence whatever of ability or learning, except in that character: in 
fact, from the political situations he had occupied, we had evidence to the 
contrary. He said the House of Representatives was composed of men 
of ability, political knowledge, and extended reputation, and that they 
would not, he felt certain, elevate a man to the highest civil situation in 
our country, for his military character alone. I have now given you the 
.substance of Mr. Clay's observations at that time, and so independently 
and forcibly were they expressed, that no doubt was left on my mind as to 
the course he would take. In fact, I kuow positively, that his sentiments 
and intentions were so well known on that subject, that many of his friends, 
and next to him the friends of Gen. Jackson, expressed their fears of t!ie 
effect the course he was going to pursue would have. This is the amount 
of the information I have, which I with great pleasure communicate, for I 
do believe Mr. Clay the most injured and persecuted statesman we have 
ever had, and one who has shed lustre and honor on the American charuc- 
ler. I am yours, with great resp<:ct, 

A. W. WOOLLEV. 
Hon. J. S. Johnston, Washington City^ D. C. 



14 

RocKviLi.K, Nov. 4th, 1827. 

LHte in the Autumn of 1824, I mPt with Colonel Benfon nnd General 
Beecher, members of Congress, at Dawson's tavern, in Rockvillo, Mary- 
land, en their vvav to Wasliington. I iiad not the phiisiire of ;« personal 
aiMjuaintance with cillier of ihnse gt'Oilciu^n, bui iioariJ wlio Uiey were from 
tithers; and allerwaids, seeing them in Washington, ascerlainid that 1 was 
correctly informed. 

It WHS believed by most of the persons present, that the election of u 
President would devolve upon the House of RepresHntalives, and chat Mi. 
Clay was not one of the number from which the House would he aiitho. 
rized to make its selection. At that moment th.* Piesidenlial eh clion was 
a most inieresiinc; subjtct of conversation, in which all present participat- 
ed ; there was much speculation upon the course which would prcbaijly 
be adopted by Mr. Clay and his friends. It was suggested by sotnn gentle- 
man, that i\lr. Clay wuuld vole for Gen. Jnckson. 1 thought diflerenily 
myself, and entered into some of the considerations which I believed would 
forbid such a vote. 1 was very glad to fmd that Col. Henton agreed with 
me : he declared it iras impossible that Mr. Clay could vote fur General 
Jackson, and expressed much surprise at the suggestion. 

I had been under the impression that Col. Benton was the friend of Mf. 
Clay, and the conversation of the evening tended to fasten that impres-'sioa 

on my mind. 

B. S. FORREST. 



Washington City, Dec. 7th, 1827. 
Sir : Your letter of the 19lh ult. covering the Lexington Virginia Intel- 
ligencer of that date, has beet) duly received, and in answer to the inquiries 
you put to me, 1 have to slate tl>at the article to which you invite my at- 
tention, is substantially, not verbally, correct, so far as il represents me as 
saying that I was informed by Mr. Clay, in the forepart id" December, 
1824, that he intended to vote for .Mr. Adams. There is no mistake in 
the dale, as a visit which I made to your part of Virginia about that lime 
enables me (o fi.x it with certainty, I left Washington, on that visit, about 
the 15th of December, and had received the inforniation of iMt. (May be- 
fore I set out, and told it, while absent, in the family of my father-in-law, 
Col. M'Dowell, of your county. But the inference so murh insisted upon, 
that I must have t<.ld the .sime thing to Mr. tatnn and other of his politic- 
al friends, is wholly erroneous ; fur, having no auth<'ri>y from Mr. Clay to 
promulpate his intentions, I only spoke of them in the bosom of a private 
family at two hundred miles distance from Washington. Since that peri>d, 
and especially during th'' present sumnitr, I have, on several occasions, 
and som<^timcs in the presence of political oppon- nls, when the course of 
conversation led mo to it, menli(med whit I knew of Mr. Clay's early in- 
tention to vote for Mr. Aiiams; and in this way, I came to speak ; f it 
a{^ai(i, some two or three weeks since, in the house "f my father-in-law, 
where I had first spoke of it near three years ag(», and whence, with somo 
additions and variations, without the privily of any one present at the con- 
versation, il has crept into the paper whiih you have sont me. No on« 
ever abked roy leave to publish what I said ; if any one had, the authors 



15 

of the publication in the Lexington paper might liave bfcn spared an ofTiciP 
whi h iiinst have bftMj iiicxpressibly painful to tli<ii hnn Tabh: feei'ngs, as 
I shi'uld not htivi; refusoil U) the Adininistraiion any lesliinony in my lavor 
to g'Vi^, ni twiihstandiiig the chaiacti^r of the war vviiich the great body of 
their forces are carrying on against me. Yoms, resptctt'ully, 

THOMAS U. BENTOiN. 



Epping, N. II. March 18, 1828. 

The chars^e of corruption and intrigue in the late Presidential flection, 
first brouglit agai.ist Mr. Clay by a incinbcr v\ the H(iu>e of Representa- 
tives, and there abandoned by its author, having been since given to the 
public, under the sanction of Glen. Jackson's name, has justly excited the 
attention of the people in every paiti'fthe country. The nature of the 
charge itself, not less than the high standing of the parties, (both the accM- 
serand the accused,) has given to this controversy an importance which 
justilies every new attempt to throw light upnii the subjict. "^I he late ad- 
dress of Mr. Clay to the public has brought to my recollectii-n certain 
circumstances, which appear to me to have some bearing on this subject, 
and which, therefore, I shall proceed to state. 

At the time of the Lite Presidential election,! had the honor of a seat in 
the H'juse of Uepreyeniatives ; and my anxiety to give efl": ct to the knowu 
wishes of my constituents for the election of Mr. Adams, did nut st.ffer 
me to neglect any opportunity of informing myself, minutely, of the pro- 
gress of events, and oi tlieir causes. With the fri'-nris of the several can- 
didates, particularly those of Mr. Adams, Mr. Crawford, and Mr. Clay, ray 
intercourse was constant, intia)ate, and extensive. Wiih niciny of them, I 
conversed freely and frecjuently on the subject ; and became early ac- 
quainted with their difterent views and feelings in reUtlon to it, as well ts 
the motives by which they apceared to be iiiflueiiced : and I can safely 
declare, th^itthe result of all my inquiries, in respect to Mr. Clay, in par- 
ticular, was a conviction, (founded on innmnerable facts and indica- 
tions of o|iinion, occurring under my own observation,) that, in this diffi- 
cult and delicate ju ciure, his conduct was distinguished by purity of motive, 
by a deep sense of public duty, and great prudence and discernment in the 
coursf' proper to be puisued. It w>«s seen, (rom the commencement ol the 
session, that his opinion would have groat inlluence in the election ; and 
the fri'nds of Mr. Adams never sufl'ered themselves to believe that Mr. 
Clay, hiaiself an experienced statesman, bred from his youth to the civil 
service of the country, would throw the dt-cisive weight of his powerlul 
influence into the scale of a <' Military Chieftain," before whom all merits 
and all s»^rvices, merely civil, seemed to disappear. In his hijih office of 
Speaker of the 11 use, he seetned unxious to preserve his usual impartiality 
between the conflicting parties ; anil though among his inttmaie friends 
his opinions were known, he neith<-r obtruded them upon the members 
generally, nor, so far as I could observe, did he take any undue pains to 
conceal them. 

With respect to his friends, (by whom I mean the members of Congress 
from those States which had voted for him tor President,) it appnart-d to 
nie that, generady s[)eakiDg, their attachrn^l was not to Mr. Clay as aa 



fndividaal merely, but as a public man — 'as a stalesinan, whose general 
views of policy wero in accorduiice with lliRir own ; i'lid thnt, finding 
tlipy could not make him President, tli(.'y looked round among iho candi- 
dates for the man \vl»«'se views of policy nearest resembled those of Mr. 
Clav — particularly on the two great questions of Internal Improvement 
and Domestic Ma 'ufucturps. This was especially the case with Ohio 
nieiubers ; and I was expressly told by one of tliem, (Gen. McArlliur,! 
ihat, cM'fli/ upon these grounds, they had come to the determination of 
voting for Mr. Adams, before they had ascertained what would be J\fr. 
Clay's course on this occasion. 

It is not, however, so much the object of tliis communication to express 
my onn opinion, either of Mr. Clay's motives, or "f the conduct of his 
friends, as to exhibit evidt^nce in relation to ceriain facts stated by him, irt 
his late address to the public. In a part of that address, it is his object to 
show that he had, early and repeatedly, expressed his opinion that Gen. 
Jackson was not qualified for the Presidency ; and, consequently, that he 
could, in no event, be expected to vole for him. To the great mass of 
evidence which h« has there adduced, it is in my power to add the follow- 
ing. It was my practice, while a member of Congress, to note down, at 
the close of each session, in a journal which I kepi for that purpose, what- 
ever occurred to me of an interesting nature, during the session that had 
just closed. The tirst session of the Eighteenth Congress closed on the 
:27th of May, 1824. The following extract from this journal is under date 
of* June, 1824;" and was written by ine immediately on my return from 
Washington. 

"I spoke but twice, this session, to Mr. Clay, on this subject. The first 
tras on the caucus, against wdich he declared himself; but professed to be 
governed, in this whole matter, entirely l)V his friends' advice. The oiher 
conversation related to General Jackson. It was soon after Pennsylvania 
declared for the General, and when he seemed, for the moment, to carry 
liW before him. He spoke with equal truth and feeling on this subject. 
lie said it wns truly discouraging to see the People so intoxicated and 
deluded, bv a little militnry gl -ry — that a man, totally unknown to the 
civil history of the Country — who kn.nv nothing of the Constitution, or 
laws of the land — and who, in short, had m^ other recommendation than 
fhiit which fjrt-w out of h'l^ forlunnte camjjaign at New Orlean-^, should be 
thought of for President of the United States, and even preferred to all 
others ; at a lime, too, when some of the ablest men the country had ever 
produced, (he did not ni'-an, he said, to include himself in the number,} 
men who had grown grey in the civil departments of the Government, in 
Congress, in dijilomatic mis«i ms, and in the Cabinet, were before the pub- 
lic, as candidat' s f(ir that offi -e — was, he said, such a symptom of the 
diseased state of public .sentiment, as must be equally alarming and dis- 
couraging, whether viewed by those who saw the highest objects of lauda- 
ble ambition snatched from them by a military chief, or by those calmer 
observers of passing eyoni'^, who look with philosophical, or prophetic 
eyes, on tlie causes of the permanence or decay of our free institutions.'' 

'IMm above cxtrict contains but an imperfect sketch of Mr. Clay's re- 
marks to nif! ill that time. He declared, with great energy, his opinion, 
that, what'.'Ver iniplit be General Jackson's other merits, he had no preten- 
sions to the character of a btalosraan ; and he j)ainted, in lively colors, 



1/ 

the dangers fo which the country was «'X[nised, from the suddfn ov»*rfli>w 
of militaiy enduisiasiu, by wlii<'li he was bmDe aloi g. li wns, he said, siD 
evil omen ; Hiid one which fort boded iii>liiii)g favorable t<< the future des- 
tinies of the Kepubhc. 1 not oidy considered thest- opinions of Mr. t l.iy 
as vvoithy to be rtco ^^^d, but spoke t)f iht-m, at ih' linrif, as indicating 
very clearly his intention to suppoit eiilier Mr. Ad;ini.< or Mr. (.'rawlord, 
against General JuJ.^c'W, should he ever be called upon to decide between 
them, 

Kerollecting this conversation, and knowing that Mr. Adams was the 
second choice ©f many of Mr. Clay's friends, I expressed, at the tommence* 
ment ot the next sts-sion, a very decided .tpinioo that hn wuold receive the 
vote of Mr. Clay. Tne state of Mr. Crawford's h'alth disqu:tl fied hira, 
in the view of all but his particular friends, for the office of President j 
and knowing, as I did, Mr. Clay's eaily and deliberate opinion of Gener"! 
Jackson's want of the reqnisite qialihcations, I conld nut doubt, that .s a 
necessary consequence of this state of things, he would vote for Mi. Adams. 
The fust week of the session did not pass wilhcut confirming me, very 
strongly, in this belief. It was on the occasion of the reception of G^-n. 
Lafayette, by the House of Representativts. In the address n)ade to him, 
as Speaker of the House, Mr. Clay dwell with complacency on the civil 
virtues ol Lafayeite ; and spoke of his " uniform devotion to regulated 
liberty," as conimandiug our " hig/iest admiratinn.'' hnmediately on the 
adjournment, I expressed to Mr. Clay my satisfaction at the preference 
which he had given to the civic merit of Lafayette, over his mere military 
exploits: and my hope that we should not soon forget this just distinction. 
He replied to nie, that it was chiefly as the friend of civil liberty that 
Lafayette was admired in this country : and that it became the House of 
R' presentatives, in particular, as the guardians of our civil rights, to re- 
ceive him in this, his highest characti-r. He added, with peculiar enipha' 
sis, *' Yuu will not find me, Mr. Piumer, disposed, by any act of mine, 
unnecessarily to inert ase the miliian/ fever, which has already produced 
such stra/ige effects among us." From the manner iu which this was 
spoken, I cuidd understand it no other way than as a direct answer to niy 
allusion to the approaching Presidential election ; and 1 drew from it the 
obvious conclusion, that Mr. Clay intended to vote for Mr. Adams. This 
was on the 10th December, 18-i4 — the day of Lafayette's reception, as 
may be seen by a reference to the journals of the House. The supposed 
corrupt orerture of Mr. Clay to Gen. Jackson is alleged to have been 
jm.ide on the 30th of ihe same month. 

Ii; his address to the public, p. 18, Mr. Clay says : 

*' If I had received the vote of Louisiana, and been one of the tlire? 
candidates returned, I had resolved, at a time when there was every proba- 
bility of my receiving it, that I would not allow my name, in consequence 
of the small number of votes by which it would be carried into the Ilouse< 
if I were returned, to constitute an obstacle to an election." 

This statement is confirmed by the letter of Mr. Johnsi'-n, of Louisiana^ 
to wiioni he m sde known his determination, before the meeting of Cou- 
gress. It may be furtlier confiruifd by the following extract t'rom my 
journal, under date of " March, 1825," written iramediutely on my return 
from the session of 1824 — 5. 

*' General M'Ailhur, of Ohio, told me, that, meeting Mi. Clay one day,, 
vhen it was th lught that he would receive the vote of Louisiana^ he told 
3 



18 

iiimtbat if he came into the House, it would be by so small it vote th;\t he 
was nfraid liis t'neuds could do liim very little service there : thai Mr. Clay 
answered, be hoped he should not be returned as one of the candidates, 
since it was evident that his el' ction, if it could take place, would be con- 
trary i») iho expressed opinion of a vast majority of the people ; and that, 
if returned to the House under such circumstances, by receiving the Lou- 
isiana votes, he should think it his duty to decline the support of his friends, 
and use his own influence in support of one of the other candidates." 

The preceding extracts appear to me entitled to more weight than any 
statement I could now make from mere recollection ; as they were written 
at the lime, for my use only, and with no expectation that they would ever 
be seen by any other person. If the facts they contain should add any 
thing to the just defence of an injured fellow-citizen, my object, in their 
publication, will have been accomplished. To stand by, in silence, and 
aee another unjustly assailed, when it is in my power to aid in his defence, 
bv 'he exhibition of facts known only to me, would, in my opinion, be lit- 
tle less criminal than to be myself the author of the wrong. 

WILLIAM PLUMER, Jun. 



Union Township, RossCounty, jQ,n. 12, 1828. 

Dear Sir: Your note of the 8th inst. has been duly received, which I 
take, great pleasure in answering, by furnishing you with the following 
Statement : 

I left Chilicothe on the 15th of November, 1824, for the neighborhood 
of Staunton, in Virginia, and on the night of the l8th, I lodged at the 
bouse of Samuel Shrewsberry, on the Great Kenhawa, in company with 
flenry Clay, General Metcalfe, and Major David White, three of the re- 
pieseptdtives in Congress from Kentucky, then on their way to Washing- 
ton. Upon ascertaining that I was a residi'nt of Ohio, and from the neigh- 
borhood of Chilicothe, they inquired whether I could inform them how 
the electoral vote of Ohio had gone; and having a number of the Scioto 
Gazette in my pocket, which contained the official statement of the vote, 
I handed it to Mr. Clay. Tljis circumstance led us into conversation, and 
plso to an acquaintance. 

The next morning the above named gentlemen and myself set out in 
company for Staunton, to which place we travelled during a journey of 
six days. In the course of our journey, I had repeated and frequent con- 
veraalions with Mr. Clay, on the subject of the Presidential election, and 
of the probable chances of success which would attend each of the can- 
didates v/ho might be returned, to be elected by the House of Represen- 
tatives. Mr. Clay gave it as his opinion that he would not be one of those 
whf> would be returned. And from the reported ill health of Mr. Craw- 
ford, i^ was not very probable that if even he were elected, he could dis- 
charge the arduous duties of President. For these reasons, he said there 
ivas little doubt but that the choice would be ultimately restricted to either 
Mr. Adams or Gon. Jackson; in which event, he rtpeatcdly stated that it 
was his settled intention to vote for Mr. Adams; alleging as a reason for 
this determination, that he could not consent to aid in elevating a mau 
tD the Presidency who stood recommended before the people by no othcj" 



19 

cjualifications than those which were purely military. The othor gentfennlcrf, 
ia Ireqiieiii conversations wiiti me un this subj«!ct, expressed uu- siune (ipin- 
ions. On our arrival at Staiiiiton we separated; tlify to go on a visit lo 
Mr. Jeflerson, and 1 to my Irieiids in the neighborhood of Staunton. 

It" you shall believe that this statement will contribute to vindicate the 
character of Mr. Clay from the foul calumnies which have been c.isl upor! 
it, in consequence of his vote for Mr. Adams, you have my permission to 
make it public. Yours, with much respect, 

ALEXANDER KUBERT50N. 
R. Kcrcheval, Eaq. Chilicdthe. 



TO THE PUBLIC. 

Lawrenceburo, February I7th, 1828» 

t have witnessf^d with no little anxiety and astonishment, the progres* 
of the investigation now before the public, in reference to the circumstan-> 
ces growing out of the election of the President of the United States, by 
the House of Representatives of the eighteenth Congress. 

The contest between the friends of Mr. Adams and General Jackson, 
has indeed assumed a most extraordinary character. Parties have been 
formed and arrayed against each other, and are made the organs of the 
most bitter and vindictive denunciations against men and principles. Se- 
rious charges have been made and exhibited to the public, in every possi- 
ble f ;rm, with a view to forestal public sentiment, on subjects that demand 
solemn and sober enquiry. The leading partissans of both the prominent 
candidates for the next presidential term, a<8luated alike by the fury of 
party spirit, instead of prosecuting the enquiry presented to the American 
people for their consideration, through those mtans most likely to result 
in just conclusions, have, to a great extent, lost sight of principle, and rest 
their hopes of victory and success npon the issue of a war of extermina' 
tion. That party spirit and blind zt al, which knows no bounds, and is 
governed alone by overhpaiing and vindictive feelings,, has superseded all 
ration;*! and sober investigation, and the repuialioii- of thebes* men in the 
nation are offered up a common sacrifice upon the altar uf prejudice. 

The press is no longer the sentinel and guardian of <ivil litierty, but h 
prostituted to the base purposes of giving currency to the most unfounded 
and infamous slanders against public and private character. E\en honor- 
able Senators, invested with specinl delegated powe.s, forgetting their own 
dignity and the duties they owe to their country and constitufirl's, atiing 
under the impulse of this political fever, and goaded on by the same mad 
and furious zeal, under the flimsy pretext of jrettling important principles, 
and regardless of the subjects of legitimate legisluijon, have formed rhem.- 
selves into a body, infin'tely more terrible than a Spanish Inquisition, in 
order to whitew.ish their political friends, and blackball their political 
enertiies ! The sanctity of private character has been violated, and, con- 
tiary to constitutional and legal forms, the reputation of private individu- 
als, in their absence, has been dragged before the tribunal of this self-cre- 
ated court of judicature, and without the means of defence, are subjected 
to insinuations and sneers from the lowest and most contemptible oi' you? 
titled political knaves. 

How far the people will sanction or reward thp authors of this usurpa- 
tion upon private right, is tot for me to determine. Perhaps th»y hsys 



20 

airfudy had tbrir reward for tliis pitiful Jiiid cowjinliy s^rvicp, by prnfrHCt- 
ing tl»pir st'ssioii at the fxpenso of tin- iie.isiiry. Eiju illy ut Imq^init, itift 
parlies cannot expect to escape public iiidig;iiHioii, by the Ciimiii'ii'uMi aiicS 
re-criinittali()i) of each other. 

I regrfi that necessity compels rnp ai tiiis tioie to viiidirale myself — 
Slandmtj ii> the altiiiide I Uo in leference to the late election, in tliiog 
bhould have tempted m« to appear before the public, but the indispciisu 
ble duty which 1 owe to my own reputation; and if any apolo^'y is due 
from me, for n>aking this publication, I rely f.)r n)y justification upon the 
extraordinary and unnecessary use tital has been made o( my name. Ot^ 
all fit occHsioi'is, 1 have explained to n»y late constituents the views and 
motives which led me to vote lor Mr. Adams. To them 1 have b^^en ex- 
plicit and unilorni ; and yet I am often made to speak facts and senti- 
ments which I never lelivered or entertained. This may be the effect of 
accident or of misaj)preheiision, growing out of detached parts of the 
same conversation ; but one thing is ccrt.iin, that I never have authorized 
my name to be used to crinsinate any man or party. I have not before 
this wriUen any thing on the subject; and from that circumstance, niauy 
persons belit^ve thai 1 am possessed of som« important secret, wtiich, if 
disclosed, would shed abundant light upon the matter of contioversy, and 
hence I have alternately been the subj ct of censure and of misrepr^-sent- 
afioM by both parties. I have no secrets to communicate. When I gave 
my vote lor Mr. Adams, 1 did it under the firm persuasion, fioni theint'or- 
mation I had received through many intelligent gentlemen of high politi- 
cal standing within n)y district, that I was acting in strict conibrmity to 
the will of aiy constituents. Thit will, I sh ill always be proud to -'bey ; 
and all hough tl>e cfioice made may be disapprobated, yet 1 feel assured 
that my motives will not be impugned by those disposed to do me jus'.ice. 

Legislative instruction had been received, it is true ; but that instruc 
tion had loi' its influence beiore it had reached its (iesiination. It was 
considered, and so representt-d, as a kind of political juggle for effect upoR 
local politics. So far as I have been iujplicaied, in connexi m with my 
late colleagues, in the alleged management, bargain, sale, (^c. in the elec- 
lioa of the President, and in the f jnnation of his cabinet, I plead con- 
scious innocence, and am willing to bow with humble suboiissiun to the 
award of an intelligent and just (leople. That my colleagues, or either of 
ihem, were guilty of ih ■ charge, cannot be established by me, I know 
of no ujipropriety of conduct or impropriety o( motive, on the part of 
either of tlum, which would authorize mo to attach to them the least 
criminality. 

I shall, iu the exercise of my constitutional right of suffrage, vote for 
the Jackson ticket, and I will support it wiili zed. Any opposition I may 
oi!er to the re election of I\lr. Adams, gruws out of ciicumstaiices foreign 
from, and entirely unconnected with, his late election by the Il'Use of 
Representatives. 

DAVID WHITE. 



IVashinQton, 4th February, 1825. 
My I^KMi Sir: I received your obliging letter of the ist instant. W- 
though my letter, to which it is an answer, was not int»nded for publica- 
tion, 1 would rather that it should be publuhud, and speuk for itself, thae 



tliat Its contents should appear tlirougli the mpclium of ^^|•. Ritchie's rc- 
presentHlioiis of tht-m. VViih regard lo its puLilicalioii, yon will br jilfascd 
to do as vuu rnay itiiiik proper. All that 1 feel anxious ahout, is, tliai llie 
public tiliould not receive an impression that it was riii/ iiiientiuu iliai it 
should be publisht d. 

My condition at this moment is most peculiar. The b;itteries of some 
of the fVieiids ot' every uiaii who would now b<; President, or who, lour or 
eight years hence, would be President, are directed against me with only 
the exception of those of Mr. Adams. Some oi the (riends of Gen ral 
Jaikson, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Calhoun, and Mi. Clinton, with very dift'er- 
oiit ultimate ends, agree for the pres'^nt, to unite in assailintj n>e. 'I he 
object now is,oi» the part of Mr. Crawlord and Gen. J-Jckson, to drive me 
from the course which my deliberate judgment pt)ints out, and, for thy 
future, on the part of Mr. Clinton and Vlr. C"alhoiin,to remov me, as an 
obstacle to their elevation. They all have yet to learn my character, if 
tiiey suppose it possible to make me swerve from my duty, by any specie^ 
of intimidation or denunciation. But I did not supp.se thatni) old friend, 
Ritchie, would join in the general cry. He ought to recollect that he is 
stitiggliiig for a man, I for the country — he to elevate an unforiunaie gen- 
tleman, worn down by disease, 1 to pieserve our youthful institutions from 
thr' bane which has destroyed all the Republics of the old world. 1 might 
have expected from the patriotism of Thomas Ritchie, that he would have 
surrendered his personal predilections, aiid joined with me, in the ellort lo 
save us from a precedent fiaught with the most pernicious consequences. 
I am so far disappointed — I say it with raortificaiion and regret. But all 
attempts to njake me unite with hira — to induce me to give up the defence 
of our institutions, that we may elect a sick gentleman, who has also been 
rejected by the great body of the iNatinn, are vain, and utterly fruitless. 
Mr. Ritchie ought to awake, should be himself again, and love Rome more 
than Caesar. 

I observe what you kindly tell me about the fixture Cabinet. My dear 
Sir, I want no office. When have I shewn an avidity for office ? in re- 
jecting the mission to Russia, and the Df'partment ol War under one Ad- 
ministr.ttion : In rejecting the same department, the mission to Eoglaod, 
or any other foreign mission, under the succeeding Administration ? If M".'. 
Adams is elected, i know not who will be his Cabinet. I know not whither 
1 shall be offered a place in it or not. If there sho Id be any ofl'er, I shall 
decide upon it when it may be mnde, according to my sense of duty. But 
do you not perceive that this denunciation of me by anticipation is a part 
of the common system between the discordant confederates which I htve 
above described ? Most certainly, if an oflice should be off* red to me, 
under the new Administration, and I should be induced to think thiit I 
ought to accept it, I shall not be deterred from accepting it, either by the 
denunciations of open or secret enemies, or the hypocrisy of pretended 
friends. With great respect, 

Judge Brooke. lam, faithfully, your friend, H.CLAY. 

Genito, April llih, 1828. 

To the Editors of the Constitutional U'hig. 
Gentlemen : The ann^^xed is a copy of a htter written by Mr. Clay to a 
member of the Virginia Legislatare, in answer to one wriiim by x\x*\. gen- 



tleman to Mr. Clay, at the particular solicitation of several members vthtr 
ki:ew ihe friendship that existed between those two gentlemen. I have 
beerk endt^avoriiig for the last 18 months to get Mr. Clay's letter, but in 
consequence of its being mislaid, 1 have been unable to do so until now, 
II goes, (logeihei with the numerous other letters written by him pending 
the fl ction) to show ihe high-minded and independent course adopted by 
him ibruugnoui that contest. I have the original now in my possession. 

Washington, 4th February, 1825, 

My Dear Sir: I have received and read, with all the attention due to 
our ancient and unbr )k.<'n trien iship, your letter of the 2d instant, Yoii 
state that the convicticn has be^'n forced up->n the Richmond public, by the 
papers which :ire d- ily receiv -d t.-om this city, that "I have gone over to 
the party of Mr. Adams with a view to constitute a part of his cabinet J^ 
Do you believe it."* Then you ought n<»t to respect me. Do you wish 
me to deny it ? Then you c;mnot respect me. What do you desire ?-~ 
That I should vole for Mr. Crawford ? I cannot. For General Jack- 
son ? I will not. I shall pursue the course which my conscience dic- 
tates, regardless of all imputations and all consequences. 1 love the State 
which gave me birth more than she loves me. Personally I would make 
any sacrifices to evince this attachment. But I have public duties to per- 
form which comprelieud a consideration of her peculiar interest and wish- 
es, and those of the rest (-f the Confederacy. Those I shall perform. In 
doing so, I may incur unfortunately her displeasure. Be it so. I cannot 
help it. The quiet of my conscience is of mi>re importance to me than 
the good opinion of even Virginia, highly as I do and ever must respect 
jt. Yoor faithful frietid, 

H. CLAY 



LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 



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